Petition Against Tax Havens

So that everyone pays their fair share

All Canadians and Canadian companies should pay their fair share

Every year, some Canadians and Canadian companies use tax havens to avoid paying their fair share of taxes.

According to an independent study, Canada loses between $5.3 billion and $7.8 billion in tax revenue each year because of tax havens.

Enough is enough.

Canada must take action to put an end to tax evasion.

My colleague, Pierre Dionne Labelle, MP for Rivière-du-Nord, will be tabling Motion M-485 shortly calling on the federal government to take concrete action to study the tax revenue lost due to tax havens. The motion asks:

(a) that the government accurately measure Canadian tax revenue lost to tax havens. Independent estimates suggest that annual losses are between $5.3 billion and $7.8 billion, but the Canadian government has not yet undertaken a study that provides accurate data on lost tax revenue.

(b) that, with a view to obtaining reliable data on the tax gap, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) supply the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) with the information he needs to prepare an estimate.

(c) that the Auditor General (AG) or the PBO prepare an estimate of the revenues that would be generated if the CRA were given additional resources to combat tax evasion. According to an OECD study, allocating more resources to combat tax evasion provides a very high return on investment: in the United Kingdom, a £4‑million investment in tax collection efforts resulted in £7 billion in additional tax revenue.

(d) lastly, that the Auditor General regularly assess the CRA’s performance in prosecuting cases of tax fraud.